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In a report that is raising eyebrows and some laughs throughout the iPhone user community, a marketing firm in Denmark announced that dedicated fans of Apple's smartphones are suffering from a delusional syndrome akin to that experienced by kidnap victims.

Analyst firm Strand Consult released a report called “How will psychologists describe the iPhone syndrome in the future?” in which they compare the often-defensive attitude shown by iPhone owners to ”Stockholm Syndrome.” Stockholm Syndrome is described as a psychological response, in which hostages develop sympathy and loyalty towards their captors.

The reports explains that iPhone fans spend lots of their energy “defending the product despite the shortcomings and limitations of both past and present versions of the iPhone.”

Apple has launched a beautiful phone with a fantastic user interface that has had a number of technological shortcomings that many iPhone users have accepted and defended, despite those shortcomings resulting in limitations in iPhone users’ daily lives.

When we examine the iPhone users’ arguments defending the iPhone, it reminds us of the famous Stockholm Syndrome – a term that was invented by psychologists after a hostage drama in Stockholm. Here hostages reacted to the psychological pressure they were experiencing, by defending the people that had held them hostage for 6 days.

The report lists the shortcomings of the iPhone - such as the inability to change the battery, or the lack of multitasking - and what they consider to be standard fanboi responses, such as "How many customers run around with spare batteries? None or very few."

Strand also publishes a free report entitled " The Moment of Truth, a portrait of the iPhone" that claims that "many of the conclusions that the media have published about the significance of the iPhone for mobile operators are not documented in the operators’ - or other key market players - financial statements" and that positive media reports about the iPhone correlate with how close a relationship the media outlet has to Apple.